Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 2 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS General Essentials · 2026-10-21

IELTS Writing Task 2 question

Smoking can cause serious illnesses and should be made illegal.

To what extent do you agree?

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

People are prone to get sick after prolong period of smoking and hence it should be banned permanently. Most people agree over this and are happy to see smoking being abandoned, but many also believe it is beneficial for people who want to relax and use for leisure activity. I strongly disagree that smoking should be announced illegal because smoking occasionally doesn't harm.

First of all, smoking is a personal choice and people smokes knowingly that it can cause severe diseases will pay for it. Everywhere cigarrates are labeled with cancer causing marks and pictures, which are adequate for warning us. Despite that, if people are smoking then they themselves are the one responsible. I have many friends who were chainsmokers for many years but after understanding that it causes more harm than use, they avoid it. Decision of smoking should be left to people whether they want to do or not.

Smoking in some parts of the world are known for medicinal usage, people dealing with stress and anxiety disorder are often recommended to smoke herb occasionally as it calms nerves. If it is used properly and responsibly, it will not cause any harm and hence can be used in limits. If it is deemed illegal then people who are suffering from worse diseases might not be able to subdue the symptoms of the chronic diseases in a natural way. There should not be any question about stopping smoking if done in a casual manner and for socializing. I have seen people smoke during parties and casual gathering for leisure and it doesn't harm anyone.

To conclude, smoking should not be deemed illegal merely because it is harmful for people who smokes regularly. Everyone knows very well that regular smoking is dangerous, even cigaratte packets display cancer symbols all over the packet, which is enough to warn people but now it should be left to people whether they want to do or not. Moreover, smoking can also be used for medicinal purposes so there has to be no question about banning it at all.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

Your position is clear: you oppose making smoking illegal, and you give reasons based on personal choice, warning labels, and possible medicinal use. These points are relevant, and the examples about friends who stopped smoking and people smoking at parties help illustrate your view. However, the response addresses the issue only partially because it does not sufficiently engage with the claim that smoking causes serious illnesses or explain how the harms to other people should be weighed against individual choice. The medicinal argument is also asserted rather than supported, and the claim that occasional smoking “doesn't harm” is too broad. Develop each main reason with clearer explanation and more reliable, specific examples, while acknowledging the strongest case for prohibition.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, with an introduction, two body paragraphs and a conclusion, and the ideas are generally grouped by topic. Linking phrases such as “First of all,” “If it is deemed illegal,” and “To conclude” help signal the stages of the argument. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear: the discussion moves from personal responsibility to friends quitting, then to medicinal use and social smoking without consistently showing how each point supports the central position. Some connections are repetitive, particularly the repeated references to warning labels and leaving the decision to individuals. Use clearer topic sentences and explain the relationship between examples and claims; vary transitions and avoid repeating the same supporting point in the conclusion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some topic-related vocabulary, including “severe diseases,” “chainsmokers,” “chronic diseases,” and “medicinal purposes,” which makes the subject clear. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “deemed illegal” and “subdue the symptoms.” However, the range is limited by repeated words such as “smoking,” “people,” and “harm,” and several choices or collocations are inaccurate or unnatural. For example, “announced illegal” does not express the intended meaning naturally, while “cancer causing marks” and “casual gathering” are imprecise. Spelling errors such as “cigarrates” and “cigaratte” also reduce accuracy. Build a wider set of precise expressions for health risks, regulation, and personal freedom, and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, including conditional forms such as “If it is used properly and responsibly” and a relative clause in “people who are suffering from worse diseases.” This gives the response some structural variety, and the main meaning is usually understandable. However, errors occur across the response and sometimes make sentences awkward. For example, “people smokes” has incorrect subject–verb agreement, “people who smokes regularly” repeats this problem, and “the one responsible” does not agree with the plural subject. There are also problems with articles and sentence construction, as in “after prolong period” and “Decision of smoking should be left to people whether they want to do or not.” Practise agreement, article use, and complete, natural clause patterns, then proofread each sentence.

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